Alps
MD-5000 Photographic-Quality
Color Printer

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The Alps MD-5000 Photographic-Quality Color Printer is a Micro Dry
thermal resin printer capable of 600 or 2400 dots per inch printing
for both monochrome and full color images. Alps uses a thermal-resin
technology that places various-size dots onto the paper using resins
with pigments. Alps also uses Micro Dry inks, which are ribbon-style
cartridges, to apply ink to the paper. Since the inks are dry,
they are waterproof, smearproof, and fadeproof and back to back printing
is possible. There is a wide range of ink cartridges you can use, such
as the standard CMYK colors as well as metallic colors; high shine foil
gold and silver; and even white for printing on dark paper. Each color
or ink type has its own separate ribbon cartridge, which is more economical
because all the colors usually don't get used up at the same rate. You
only have to replace the colors you need and not the whole container.
The MD-5000 is actually two printers in one. (1) The standard Micro
Dry mode is a dithered 600 dpi or 2400 dpi thermal process that places
dots onto the paper. (2) But the Alps MD-5000 can be upgraded to a dye
sublimation mode/printer, using an upgrade kit and photographic
ribbon-style cartridges, in which ink dyes are vaporized (the colors
are turned into a gas), and then sublimated into special paper. Dye
sub printers deliver the closest quality to a photographic print as
they control not only how many dots of color they put on the page but
the intensity of the dots, producing a continuous tone like a photograph.
The prints actually look and feel much like the drugstore color print
you are used to looking at, delivering the best color clarity and sharpness.
For dye sub printing, you need to use special paper, but with the standard
mode, you can use laser paper or even plain copy paper if you use a
primer ribbon provided by Alps. Also with the MD-5000, you can produce
excellent quality images on virtually any printable surface including
transparencies, cardstock, T-shirt transfers, overhead transparencies
and embossed foil surfaces.

Alps Electric has been in business since 1976. They make floppy disk
drives, keyboards, and invented the touchpad used on notebook computers.
They produce a variety of electronic products from computer peripherals
such as high contrast LCD panels and disk drive components, to electromechanical
controls for the automotive industry, and audio and lighting control
applications. Their Web site is worth checking out: http://www.alpsusa.com

The Alps MD-5000 is available with either a bi-directional parallel
port for Windows-based systems or a SCSI module for Macintosh OS V7.01
or later. Price: PC Printer ($599); Mac/PC Printer ($649). Optional
features are: Dye Sublimation Kit ($99); USB Interface Kit for the iMac
OS V8.01 and Windows ($99); and Adobe PostScript 3 with Pantone Color
Matching for Macintosh ($149.99).

Serious Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced
computer users. The printer is not difficult to use but I suggest that
it would be helpful to have a solid understanding and some practical experience
using printers, but it is not absolutely necessary. There are a variety
of ribbons, and papers settings that might seem confusing to a very beginner.
Once you become familiar with the ribbons, papers, and settings, it is
easy to use. I had problems with setting up the printer as I had a variety
of other peripherals attached to the computer and the Alps can be finicky
if you are using other printers. It doesn't like switches, prefers its
own parallel port, and wants to have a LPT 1 address. If you are unfamiliar
with setting up a printer, especially with bi-directional printers, or
have other printers attached to your computer, you might consider getting
help. There are two User Guides, one printed and the other on the CD,
that come with the printer but I found them confusing. Don't let these
factors deter you from purchasing the printer, though. It is well worth
the few hassles you might encounter. The printer is perfect for graphic
artists, professional photographers, serious hobbyists and small businesses
who need the best possible color output for a variety of digital printing
applications.

Dye sub inks are smear-proof and waterproof;

Dye sub inks are no-dot, continuous tone;

Standard Micro Dry inks are fade-proof, waterproof, and smear-proof;

White inks are available for a wide variety of applications;

Metallic inks are available for greeting cards, business cards and
other applications;

Gold and silver foil inks are available for greeting cards, business
cards and other applications;

Reusable Finish ink is available for extended ribbon life (use up
to 5 times);

Reusable EconoBlack ink is available for extended ribbon life and
inexpensive black-text printing (use up to 20 times).

Installation: I did have difficulty
with the installation. Part of the problem was that I wanted to use
the printer with a PC computer that probably had more peripherals, including
other printers, attached to it than most of your stores have for sale.
Nowadays, it is not uncommon for the average computer buff to have a
variety of peripherals and printers so I thought this was a good test
to see how the Alps handled the situation. I can just hear all the die-hard
Mac users mumbling under their breath: "What did you expect from
a PC; use a Mac." But the other printers I had attached to the
computer were Hewlett Packard laser printers and Epson inkjet printers
and I had no problem installing them. Well, when it came to the Alps,
it was a comedy of errors. First, you need bi-directional cables and/or
switches and the local store gave me the wrong cables. Then I wanted
to use an internal switch to go from one printer to another but couldn't
find one that would accommodate all the printers I wanted to use. I
tried one external switch but wasn't sure it was bi-directional and
then tried another. Still nothing would work. Again, the store wasn't
sure what they had sold me. Finally I purchased another parallel port
because I was told by Alps technicians that the Alps could be finicky
with other printers or devices. When you install another port, the second
port is assigned to LPT 2, with the first one being LPT 1 with all the
other peripherals on it. Well, the Alps wanted to be on LPT 1, so all
my drivers had to be uninstalled from LPT 1 and then reinstalled to
LPT 2, so the Alps could be assigned to LPT 1. It finally worked. After
a week of store errors, wrong switch boxes and cables, dealing with
a printer that matched Greta Garbo in its "I want to be alone"
stance, I was so frustrated, I didn't even test it for another few weeks.
But I absolutely love the printer now and would go through the ordeal
again if I had to. My advice to anyone interested in the printer is
to make sure you have the right cables, switch boxes, additional ports
or whatever you need before you start. And you might give the Alps technical
support a call and discuss with them what your setup is and what other
devices you have attached to your computer before you decide on how
to install the printer. On a happy note, though, the dye sublimation
upgrade was a snap to install. There is a small key you insert in the
back of the printer and special drivers, paper, and ribbons are provided
with the upgrade kit.

Manuals: There are two manuals
that come with the printer. One is printed, the other is on the CD.
I was not overly impressed with the manuals. Computer users vary when
it comes to liking printed material. I have friends that never open
a computer book for software or hardware. On the other hand, I am a
reader and like books and user guides. With the mass marketing of printers
and the lowering of prices, something had to go, and it was the quality
of the manuals. Since you can do so much with the Alps--print with foil
and metallic colors; use white ink for printing on dark paper; print
on both sides of the paper; and print overlays, I thought the material
was not well organized nor complete enough for what the printer can
do. For instance, when printing silver and gold foil colors
with CMYK colors, the manual states to use the overlay mode if you have
problems. But information on overlay is in another chapter; the information
is scanty at best; and further information about settings for this type
of printing were found on the last page of the 89 page manual. This
is not just a complaint I have about this printer or device. I have
been purchasing printers, scanners, and general computer equipment for
over 10 years and I still have the manuals that came with the items.
In those days, the quality of the manuals was to die for; you usually
got more than one printed manual; they were extremely thorough, and
actually printed out. You didn't have to go to the trouble to print
out a 100 page manual. Nowadays, even with the more pricey items, you
are lucky to get a printed manual, much less a thorough one. Many are
skimpy. And if they are large and you have to print them out from the
CD, it can be time-consuming. Most computer users are familiar with
inkjet or laser printers, but many know nothing about dye sublimation
printing as most other dye sublimation printers are priced out of the
range of typical users. I think the quality you get from the Alps is
as good as or better than the other inkjet and laser printers out there
and it would be an excellent choice for the average business or home
user. A thorough manual wouldn't hurt to familiarize the computer user
with this type of printing.

Specifications: Compared to the
large and bulky inkjets and laser printers on the market, the MD-5000
is a compact printer that will not take up much room on a desktop. It
is about 18.2 inches wide by 11.8 inches deep by 7.5 inches high and
weighs about 11 lbs. 8oz. There is a pullout tray, which retracts when
not in use, to receive the printed paper. There are no ink cartridges.
The printer uses a variety of ribbon cartridges which are easily installed
in the four cartridge holders at the front compartment. You can install
up to 7 ribbons, depending on the type of printing you are doing, leaving
one position open for cycling. There is a high quality black cartridge,
as well as a basic reusable black cartridge, which can be used over
and over again. There are the standard magenta, cyan, and yellow cartridges,
which are not reusable; a primer ribbon cartridge that can be used to
prepare many papers for printing, even standard off-the-shelf photocopy
paper; and a finish cartridge for a glossy look. For dye sublimation
printing, you use a different set of ribbons. There are also ribbons
so you can print with metallic colors, use silver and gold foil colors,
and print in white.

Printing: There are a variety of
settings and dialog boxes you have to familiarize yourself with when
you use the MD-5000 printer. You have two choices for feeding the paper
into the printer: manual and automatic. All settings are found in the
Alps Properties dialog box, where there are three tabs across the top
of the screen: Document/Quality; Paper; and Image Settings. Under each
tab are other options.

Document/Quality--This is where you choose three options:
(1) Document Type such as photographs, graphics/text, grayscale, etc.,
or choose automatic and let the printer determine the type; (2) Media
Type--what you print on--is also selected. You have a variety of choices:
Plain; Laser; Transparency Film; Vphoto
Print Film; Vphoto Paper (4x6 plus); Photo Realistic Label; Photographic
Paper; Photographic Label; Cardboard; Iron-on Transfer Sheet; and
Back Print Film. The Vphoto Print Paper is used for printing
at 2400 dpi and the Photographic Paper and Labels are used for the
dye sublimation printing; and (3) Print Settings: standard color,
glossy finish, Vphoto color, or dye sublimation, as well as spot color
settings. Different settings affect the choices in the other boxes,
and the printer will actually remind you or warn you about certain
settings.

Paper--Under this tab, you choose paper size; layout; orientation
of paper; how many copies; paper source; and overlay. Overlay is a
neat feature that allows you to print two consecutive pages on one
by keeping the paper in the machine after it has printed so you can
change the ribbons and print a second page on the same paper.

Image Settings--Your color control options are under this
tab. You select photo enhancement; image brightness and/or contrast;
and you have further color matching or color balance options.

How Printers Work; Advantages/Disadvantages;
and Print Quality: I tested the printer against
a variety of laser and inkjet printers. I printed in color, black &
white, and grayscale, and I printed full color pages, used the foil
colors, and spot color. The quality was as good as or even better than
what was produced on either the color laser or the inkjet printers.
Many people buy two or more printers it is difficult to find just one
printer that prints crisp text and color graphics or photographs. The
MD-5000 gives you exceptional results in both text and photographs at
an affordable price. Below is a discussion of different printing technologies
and their strengths and weaknesses. In determining what printer to buy,
I feel it is not necessarily a decision on which is better but what
is more appropriate for a persons needs, i.e., what is it going to be
used for, and what can you afford.

Color Printing--I think it's important to understand the mechanism
of color printing and why you get dithering and jaggies on some printers
and why dye sublimation printers such as the Alps give you continuous
tone or photographic quality prints. Color printing uses four separate
pigments: cyan, yellow, magenta, and black. This system is called
CYMK. (K stands for black.) Some low-end color inkjet printers save
the cost of a black ink print head by using equal portions of magenta,
yellow, and cyan to produce black. But the resulting black lacks density,
which is why better personal printers include a print head for black
ink. All color printers use tiny dots of those four inks to create
various shades of color on the page. Lighter shades are created by
leaving dots of unprinted white. Some printers, such as dye-sublimation,
control the size of the dots and produce continuous-tone images that
rival photography. But most printers create dots that are essentially
the same size no matter how much of a particular color is needed.
For all shades beyond the eight that are produced by overlaying the
primaries, the printer generates a varied pattern of differently colored
dots. For example, the printer uses a combination of 1 magenta dot
to two of cyan to produce a deep purple. For most shades of color,
the dots of ink are not printed on top of each other. Instead, they
are offset slightly, a process called dithering. The eye accommodatingly
blends the dots to form the desired shade as it hides the jagged edges,
or jaggies, produced by the dots. Dithering can produce nearly 17
million colors. The type of paper used in color printing affects the
quality of the hard copy. Dithering is more apparent on inkjets

Inkjet Printers--Inkjet printers spray ink through tiny jets,
or nozzles, onto the paper. All in all, inkjet printers deliver great
and affordable results, but there are some downsides. The ink from
an inkjet printer tends to migrate, or spread out, on the paper, making
the print look less sharp because the "dot" is less defined. This
is where you get jaggies or jagged text. A harder, less absorbable
paper, such as paper with a glossy surface, helps contain ink migration,
but the ink might take a few minutes to dry. You should handle a page,
especially one with a lot of dense color on it, with care. Inkjets
can be slow. It takes a lot of time for the print head to scan across
the page and deliver ink. There are printers that are designed specifically
for printing photos which give good detail and very accurate color.
Although you can use plain paper to get a quick draft image printed,
a better paper grade, such as a good-quality laser paper, yields better
results. Inkjet prints fade quickly and smear easily unless they have
a protective coating. A good photographic inkjet printer can give
you outstanding quality images on special paper. They are also good
for general office work where you want an inexpensive printer that
can handle volume. Many of the older versions used only one cartridge
filled with cyan, magenta, and yellow ink and one cartridge filled
with black ink. You would have to throw out the whole cartridge if
you ran out of even one color. Numerous new inkjets come with separate
color cartridges and this is a consideration if you do any volume
printing. Also many of the newer inkjets can give you good quality
output on laser paper.

Color Laser Printers--Color Laser Printers have a drum that
is charged with static electricity. The drum picks up colored toner,
which sticks to the static. The drum transfers the toner to the paper.
The toner is then thermally fixed to the paper. Color laser printers
deliver great color, but they are expensive. You can use plain paper
but a better quality paper will produce better results. Laser printers
produce great looking and crisp text, but are not noted for the quality
of printed photographs as they are not continuous tone printers.

Micro-Dry Printers--Micro-Dry printers are much like dye-sub
printers delivering resin-based ink via thermal transfer from a ribbon.
You can use any paper with a micro-dry printer. There is a slight
banding. It is questionable whether this is from where the half-inch
ribbon swaths stitch together or from thermal technology, but this
banding is common to many printers that print in a row, so some banding
is natural. The banding can be avoided by selecting different backgrounds
or subjects. The MD-5000 can produce vivid and photographic quality
prints because it is a variable dot printer. The Alps patented printer
insures exact control of dot diameter, resulting in superior print
quality. This unique technology combines a thermal controller chip
and an Alps Micro DOS (Deposit on Silicon) print head. The controller
creates a precision, high-density print pattern for each dot, selects
the correct ink and fuses the image to the print surface. The printer
is able to size the pixel into three perfectly shaped dots, accurately
registered. Have you ever designed an image, picked great colors,
and then printed the image on colored paper and you get totally different
shades of the colors. Well, with the Alps this doesn't happen. Since
the ink stays on the surface, you can print on colored paper without
the color changing the color of the ink. We tested the MD-5000 against
other laser and inkjet printers and it produced excellent results
in the micro-dry mode. The text was clear, the colors were sharp and
vivid, even on just laser paper such as Hammermill. The inks cost
under $10 per color and seem to last.

Dye Sublimation Printers--Dye-sub printers work by transferring
colored dyes by heat (for this reason, you might also have seen these
printers referred to as thermal dye sublimation printers) The dyes
are held on a ribbon or roll and transferred to the paper when heated.
When the dye hits the paper, it sublimates, or sinks into the paper--it
does not sit on the paper surface. You cannot use plain paper in this
process; you must use paper that is made especially for this process.
When you use the proper paper, the dye spreads out a bit on the paper's
glossy surface and mixes with the other colors, producing a continuous
tone much like that found in a traditional color print. The prints
from the MD-5000 using this mode were outstanding. You get an extremely
professional look from just a desktop printer. Until now, a full-page
dye sublimation printer has been to expensive for most people. The
cheaper models printed only smaller pages.

The Alps MD-5000 gives you a wide range of
print modes that produce quality prints, provides sharp images of skin
tones, black & white photos, and the fine detail of a high quality
laser printer but it has a price closer to that of an inkjet. It is great
for brochures, newsletters, and flyers where you want crisp text and quality
graphics. The reusable black ribbon cartridge makes it economical for
printing drafts. Also having the inks in separate containers saves you
money. Having prints that are smear-proof, fadeproof, and water-proof
is important for many users. They can be handled immediately. I did not
find the MD-5000 to be overly slow for the quality of output. It is slow
when you print a full color page, but all printers are rather slow when
printing full color pages. I would highly recommend the Alps MD-5000 for
anyone seeking affordable high quality graphic output and sharp, clean
text from a single printer.